1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connecting structure to connect various components of a vehicular interior light unit, for example, a lamp accommodated in the light unit's housing, a switch that controls the lamp's illumination, the busbar base for connecting the lamp with the switch, and a conductive pattern of a printed circuit board (PCB), the PCB including a light-emitting diode (LED) attached thereto for partially illuminating the position of an interior component of the vehicle (e.g., a cup holder or the like).
2. Description of the Related Art
A known vehicular interior light unit disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,402,570 (the entire content of which is expressly incorporated hereinto by reference), includes a busbar attached to the back side of a base that is formed by injection molding, for connecting a power source, a switch, and a lamp that is accommodated in the base. When the switch is turned on, the busbar connects the lamp with the power source to turn the lamp on.
Since the above-described vehicular interior light unit only controls the switching of the lamp, the network is sufficiently simple to be formed by a single busbar. However, a light unit which further includes a light-emitting diode (LED) for partially illuminating the position of a cup holder or the like has been developed in recent years.
In such a light unit, a printed circuit board (PCB) is accommodated in a housing, and the LED is attached thereto. The conductive pattern of the PCB is connected to the busbar by connecting male connectors formed on the busbar with female connectors having leads extending therefrom, and then connecting the leads with the conductive pattern of the PCB. Alternatively, the conductive pattern of the PCB is connected to the busbar by connecting the male connectors formed on the busbar with male connectors formed on the PCB using female connectors having leads therebetween. In this manner, the whole network is formed.
According to the network formed by electrically connecting the busbar with the PCB using such connectors, a number of parts are required, and many hours are required for soldering the leads to the PCB or for connecting the connectors, therefore increasing the costs.